Tuesday, May 1

Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

Lizzie Bennet is attending Longbourn Academy – a prestigious school for young ladies – on a music scholarship. With the exception of fellow “charity case” Charlotte and roommate Jane, Lizzie is met with nothing but scorn wherever she goes.

Prom is approaching and everyone – excluding Lizzie – is excited for the event. While she’s happy that Jane’s romance with Charles Bingley of Pemberly is blooming, she is less than impressed with his arrogant friend, Will Darcy.

Can Lizzie avoid the humiliation of the upper classes, with the help of ex-Pemberly scholarship student Wick and her love of music? It seems as though she can do nothing to escape the consistent presence of prom and Darcy.

I’d had my eye on this book for a while but it wasn’t until it came out in paperback that I snatched it up. Unlike the original, ‘Prom and Prejudice’ is written in Lizzie Bennet’s first person narrative. It still has the feel of ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ due to the rhythmic style of the text. Even the characters’ speech mirrors the style of the original, without seeming over-done, implausible or stuffy.

I would have thought I would be loathed to read a book about prom. It’s something I know of only through American television and it’s presented as being rather superficial and tedious. Although, thinking about it, prom is the substitution for marriage in this premise and I have zero interest in marriage and still enjoy ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ This book is not all prom, prom, prom gush, however. It is more focused on how Lizzie deals with the happenings around her, one of which just happens to be the constant factor of prom.

It was interesting to see how the characters’ roles were adapted for a modern setting. Lizzie is an only child, Jane is her best friend and Ella Gardiner is her piano teacher. I was constantly intrigued to see how characters and elements were re-incorporated and enjoyed even the smallest nods to the original text.

The most enjoyable factor of the novel was – of course – the character dynamic between Lizzie and Darcy. I was a little wary going into the book because the blurb on the back suggested Lizzie was the proud one and Darcy the prejudice one. While I believe they have factors of both aside, I was glad to discover that it did follow the original premise of Lizzie’s persistent prejudice against Darcy.

The only critical point I have about ‘Prom and Prejudice’ is that it was too short. I would have liked to see more of Lizzie’s life and conflict with other characters.

I managed to read this book in two days and was feeling pretty smug with myself, until I handed it off to my mum who read the book in about two hours. Ego deflated.

I would recommend ‘Prom and Prejudice’ to readers who like ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ unless you’re dead set against a modern re-imagining of the classic.

In accordance with the FTC, Quill Café would like to disclose that the reviewer purchased this book. The opinions expressed are hers alone and no monetary compensation was offered to her by the author or publisher. Cover art is copyright of Point and is used solely as an aide to the review.